T.I.'s arrest: Will he go back to prison?

Image Credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage.comAs EW reported yesterday, rapper T.I. (né Clifford Harris Jr.) and his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, were arrested Wednesday night in Hollywood after deputies smelled marijuana coming from the couple’s car. (The couple was released early on Thursday after they each posted $10,000 bail.) A new beat in the story pegs the arrest to suspicion of possessing methamphetamines. Whether it’s marijuana or methamphetamines, the big question is: Will this land T.I. – just six months into a three-year probation sentence – back in prison? The rapper was just released from an Arkansas federal prison last December after serving seven months on a 2008 conviction on federal weapons charges. UPDATE: The L.A. Sheriff’s Office confirms with EW that T.I. and his wife were pulled over after making an illegal U-turn, and that police who had stopped the rapper smelled pot in his car. The Sheriff’s Office also confirms that the controlled substance discovered in the vehicle was Ecstasy.

While on probation, T.I., currently en route back to Atlanta, is prohibited from committing any crimes or possessing any controlled substances, and he’s required to submit to drug tests and go through drug and alcohol treatment. So an arrest on drug possession while on probation certainly could lead to more time behind bars. Will that be the case here? Only time will tell, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta says T.I.’s case is currently under review. “The probation office is in the process of determining what happened and will make a recommendation regarding Mr. Harris when they have all the facts,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates says. Once the probation office has thoroughly reviewed the details and context of the case, it will decide whether to bring it back to the U.S. Attorney’s office, which originally prosecuted the rapper on the federal gun charges.

“We haven’t gotten anything from the probation office yet,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney told EW this morning. “There’s no automatic formula for such cases.”

The arraignment for the new charges in California won’t likely be for another two months.